Draft Adur Local Plan 2012 Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) of Adur Draft Local Plan Report September 2012 Prepared for Adur District Council — HRA Screening of the Draft Adur Local Plan Revision Schedule Habitat Regulations Assessment September 2012 Rev Date Details Prepared by Checked by Approved by Dr James Riley Steph Cooling Dr James Riley 1 August 2012 Draft Principal Ecologist Principal Ecologist Ecologist Dr James Riley 2 06/09/12 For consultation Principal Ecologist URS Infrastructure and Environment UK Limited Scott House Alençon Link Basingstoke Hampshire RG21 7PP Telephone: +44(0)1256 310200 Fax: +44(0)1256 310201 Adur District Council — HRA Screening of the Draft Adur Local Plan Limitations URS Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (“URS”) has prepared this Report for the sole use of Adur District Council (“Client”) in accordance with the Agreement under which our services were performed. 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Adur District Council — HRA Screening of the Draft Adur Local Plan Table of Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................... 6 1.1 Legislation ...................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Scope and objectives ...................................................................................................... 6 2 Methodology .................................................................................... 8 2.1 Key principles ................................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Process .......................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Screening ....................................................................................................................... 9 2.4 Confirming other plans and projects that may act in combination .................................. 10 3 Pathways of Impacts ..................................................................... 11 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 11 3.2 Sites scoped into the screening assessment ................................................................ 15 3.3 Draft Options, Allocations and Policies ......................................................................... 17 4 Arun Valley SPA, SAC and Ramsar ............................................. 18 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 18 4.2 Features of European Interest: SAC ............................................................................. 18 4.3 Features of International Interest: Ramsar Criteria ........................................................ 18 4.4 Amberley Wild Brooks SSSI ......................................................................................... 19 4.5 Pulborough Brooks SSSI .............................................................................................. 20 4.6 Waltham Brook SSSI .................................................................................................... 20 4.7 Condition Assessment .................................................................................................. 20 4.8 Key Environmental Conditions ...................................................................................... 20 4.9 Potential Effects of the plan .......................................................................................... 20 4.10 Other plans and projects ............................................................................................... 21 4.11 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 21 5 Lewes Downs SAC ........................................................................ 22 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 22 5.2 Features of European Interest ...................................................................................... 22 5.3 Condition Assessment .................................................................................................. 22 5.4 Key Environmental Conditions ...................................................................................... 22 5.5 Potential Effects of the plan .......................................................................................... 22 5.6 Other plans and projects ............................................................................................... 23 5.7 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 23 6 Castle Hill SAC .............................................................................. 24 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 24 6.2 Features of European Interest ...................................................................................... 24 4 Adur District Council — HRA Screening of the Draft Adur Local Plan 6.3 Condition Assessment .................................................................................................. 24 6.4 Key Environmental Conditions ...................................................................................... 24 6.5 Potential Effects of the plan .......................................................................................... 24 6.6 Other plans and projects ............................................................................................... 25 6.7 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 25 7 Conclusions ................................................................................... 26 7.1 European sites .............................................................................................................. 26 APPENDIX 1: ‘Tiering’ in habitat regulations Assessment ................... 27 APPENDIX 2: Local Plan draft policies ................................................... 28 5 Adur District Council — HRA Screening of the Draft Adur Local Plan 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Legislation The Habitats Directive and Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 apply the precautionary principle to protected areas (Special Areas of Conservation, SACs, Special Protection Areas, SPAs and, as a matter of UK Government policy, Ramsar sites). Plans and projects can only be permitted having ascertained that there will be no adverse effect on the integrity of the site(s) in question. This is in contrast to the SEA Directive which does not prescribe how plan or programme proponents should respond to the findings of an environmental assessment; it simply says that the assessment findings (as documented in the ‘environmental report’) should be ‘taken into account’ during preparation of the plan or programme. In the case of the Habitats Directive, potentially damaging plans and projects may still be permitted if there are no alternatives to them and there are Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest (IROPI) as to why